Underage

Holy shit, bands, where are you coming up with these names? Looking through the music calendars these days, it’s obvious that “good band name” has moved onto the endangered species list. It’s 2010—I suppose there just isn’t a whole lot to choose from. There have always been silly names, I know, but it’s just getting ridiculous.

He Whose Ox Is Gored? What the fuck is that?

I can’t judge a band solely on the name, though. Schoolyard Heroes was a dumb name, too, but I loved that band (RIP/viva la Blood Cells). For the first six months of their existence, I refused to listen to Death Cab for Cutie, just because I thought the name was so stupid—even if it is a Yellow Submarine reference.

My point is, I was fooled at first by the name He Whose Ox Is Gored. But after actually, oh, I don’t know, doing my job, I discovered that the dumbly named He Whose Ox Is Gored are actually pretty fantastic. At times, they make me think of a less poppy Torche. Like Torche, they walk the line between rock and hardcore. On one hand, the vocals are intense—usually delivered with an almost inaudible scream (as with so many hardcore bands), yet their heavy breakdowns (reminiscent of Isis, even) are sandwiched between some rock-and-roll guitar riffs and almost dancey synth lines.

But the name. Sigh. He Whose Ox Is Gored. It’s so clunky and awkward to say. Then again, as the cliché goes, what’s in a name? Especially these days, when it’s hardly the worst band name out there. They’re still pretty rad.

Thurs Feb 4: Exohxo at Seattle Art Museum, 5:30 pm, free.

Thurs Feb 4: Haiti Relief Show: Common Market, the Physics, Dyno Jamz, Sol, and more at Neumos, 8 pm, $10 adv/$12 DOS.

Fri Feb 5: He Whose Ox Is Gored, Evangelist, Shaded Emnity, Swörming at the L.A.B., 7 pm, $5.

Wed Feb 10: All Teeth, Defeater, the Helm, Not Sorry at Fusion Cafe (Downtown YMCA), 7 pm, $6.